If you're
concerned about a waste facility anywhere in the USA then contact CEDS at 410-654-3021
(call-text) or Help@ceds.org for an initial no-cost discussion of strategy options.

CEDS helps people protect their home, neighborhood, and
environment from the impact of poorly conceived landfills, incinerators,
transfer stations, recycling and composting operations, sewage sludge
disposal, and other waste facilities. Whether you
are faced with an existing or proposed facility, we can help you find the
quickest, least expensive, yet highly-effective strategy to protect you,
your neighbors and the environment. Just give us a call at the CEDS
Citizen's Hotline: 410-654-3021.

In this webpage you will find information about:

waste
facility impacts,

how many of these impacts can be resolved, and

how to defeat
those proposals which are so poorly-planned that the impacts simply cannot
be reduced to a reasonable level.

So before you hire a lawyer or any
other professionals, give CEDS call. We exist to assist
folks who need more help then nonprofits can provide, but are not in a
position to invest thousands of dollars in legal action. Our clients
are presently winning 90% of their cases thanks to Politically Oriented Advocacy, which CEDS developed.

While waste facilities are essential and must exist somewhere, far too
many unnecessarily impact neighborhoods and the environment. These
impacts may extend several hundred feet to several miles. A summary of
the most common impacts follows. Evaluating the potential impact of a
proposed facility can be complex and frequently requires professional
assistance. For further detail contact CEDS at
410-654-3021 or Help@ceds.org.

Health: A waste
facility can threaten human health via releases or disease- or
allergy-causing matter to the air, soil or water.
The threat may take the form of disease-causing organisms, cancer-causing
substances, dust or other respiratory irritants, the noise or odors
addressed below, and a host of other undesirable scenarios.
Health risks vary depending upon facility type, design and location.
For example, a New
York study determined that those living near a landfill were at greater
risk when compared to transfer station or incinerator neighbors. Even
seemingly benign facilities, like composting operations, can pose a
significant threat as illustrated by a
Cornell University
report showing that the bacteria, fungi and other airborne pathogens released
from yard waste facilities can affect the health of those living a third of
a mile distant. This is but a small sampling of the extensive research
regarding the health effects of waste facilities. Unfortunately, limited space
prevents us from reviewing all the research here.

Noise: Sound that disturbs the peacefulness of your
home is an apt description of noise. Excessive noise makes it
difficult to relax, concentrate or share a conversation with others.
Early morning or late-night noise can disrupt you sleep. With regard
to landfills, the most common noises are from back-up beepers and the clang
of tail gates slamming against heavy truck bodies. Public address
systems are occasionally another source of noise.

You should insist on a detailed noise study to determine if sound levels
will exceed those permitted in your state or locality. If a study is
produced and you'd like a second opinion, then feel free to forward it to CEDS.
But contact us first at 410-654-3021 or
Help@ceds.org to let us know its coming. Following are a couple of
steps for reducing the more common sources of landfill noise.

In a 2010 report,
the National Academy of Engineering cited back-up beepers are one of the top
six noise sources associated with behavioral and emotional consequences.
Backup beepers and slamming tailgates top the federal
Department of Transportation's list of nighttime construction noise
sources.

Alternatives are available to traditional back-up beepers, such as
white-noise devices which may be even more effective but cause less
disturbance to area residents. The
Federal Highway Administration recommended four actions to reduce noise
from slamming tailgates:

Odors: Generally, odors from most municipal waste
are not too bad. But when the odors are bad they can be offensive at a
distance of up to
four or
five miles. Gypsum wallboard in construction and demolition can
release hydrogen-sulfide which has an odor of rotten eggs if it becomes wet
in a low-oxygen environment. This sulfurous odor has been smelled up
to three miles away. Some industrial or other "putresible"
wastes can be pretty horrendous, like those from food processing or sewage
treatment plants.

Landfill operators are required to cover wastes with a layer of earth at the end of each day,
Daily cover usually keeps odors down. Some of the
worst odors occur when its necessary to dig into a landfill to repair liner
leaks or gas collection piping.

Deodorants and odor neutralizers are used to reduce nauseating smells.
But an active gas extraction system is the most reliable means of
controlling landfill odors.
Odor Control Blankets made of high density
polyethylene (HDPE) liner material are another option. The Blankets
are combined with fans to blow odor neutralizing agents across the area.
Odorous water is treated with carbon scrubbers.

Property Value: If a landfill can be
seen, heard or smelled from a home then it probably lowers property value.
Property value can also be depressed if a landfill cannot be seen, heard or
smelled but a large number of trucks travelling to the landfill pass by a
home.

Truck Traffic: Landfills generate a
tremendous amount of truck traffic. An increase in heavy truck traffic
can lower property value and increase accidents as well as noise. The
noise alone can substantially lower property value when truck traffic
increases. The noise from heavy truck traffic lowers property value at
a rate 30 to 50 times greater
than cars. This is because at 50 feet
heavy trucks emit noise 16 times louder than car traffic. With regard to accidents,
a fatality is twice as likely when a car is involved in a crash with a
truck vs. another car.

Water Pollution: When rain or
snowmelt enters a landfill and mixes with decomposing waste a
highly-contaminated liquid known as leachate can form. Modern
landfills benefit from a series of measures to minimize the release of
leachate into underlying groundwater or nearby waterways. The measures
include a liner beneath and around the sides of the buried waste. A
system of pipes at the bottom of the landfill to collect leachate for
treatment. When a landfill cell is closed it is covered with an
impermeable cap. Finally, the landfill is ringed with monitoring wells
to detect significant increases in the release of leachate.

While all
of these measures can reduce and delay leachate releases, they cannot
prevent eventual water pollution. This is because water must be
prevented from coming in contact with the buried waste for hundreds, even
thousands of years. Liners have been in use for about 30 years, which
is about the same duration as the warranty offered by most liner manufacturers.
In the United States landfill owners are only required to monitor and
maintain the landfill for 30 years.
One study
indicated that liner half-life is about 36 years. As holes develop in
liners they can be repaired, but this requires excavating buried waste which
can lead to severe odor problems. And eventual, catastrophic liner
failure may be inevitable.

In addition to waste minimization, the following measures will
reduce waste facility impacts:

Waste facilities should be located in industrial areas and away from
homes;

If a site is not available in an industrial area, then landfills, composting and related sites should be located
at least 1500 feet
from homes;

Most waste facilities generate truck traffic so they should be
located where direct access is available to a four-lane road or other
major highways, never where trucks must travel residential streets;

Waste processing and transfer should be done within a building
fitted state-of-the-art equipment to control odors, dust, airborne
pathogens and
allergens;

The building should have an impermeable floor to
prevent groundwater contamination;

Safety measures must be used that protect workers as well as
area residents from excessive noise, such as white-noise
backup alarms, rubber- gasketed or bottom-opening truck tailgates; and

Waste facilities facilities posing a ground or surface water
contamination potential should not be located in areas where drinking
water would be threatened along with waters support uniquely sensitive aquatic
communities.

The process of assessing potential waste facility impacts is kind of the
reverse of the criteria given above for
Getting the Benefits With
Fewer Impacts. Specifically, waste facilities should NOT be
located:

In residential areas;

Within 1500 feet if waste is handled, transferred, processed or
landfilled in the open (not inside a building);

Where truck traffic will travel residential streets or other roads
where an increase in trucks may pose a threat to homes or other
motorists;

Where noise may exceed thresholds that harm quality of life for area
residents;

In areas with nearby wells or surface drinking water sources; or

Where
sensitive aquatic communities may be harmed.

In addition, if a waste facility has been proposed for a site within four
miles of your home or in the watershed of a stream, lake, or other aquatic
resource you value, then we urge you to aggressively pursue the following
quality of life protection measures:

Ensure that strategies for minimizing the need for
another landfill (reduce, recycle, and reuse) being aggressively
pursued;

Assuming full use of waste reduction strategies, is
another landfill truly needed;

Make certain that all reasonable sites have been
considered and that the proposed location truly is the best; and

Carefully scrutinize the design, operation plan, and
long term care to ensure that the landfill causes the least impact
possible.

Most waste projects require the approval of either a local or state
legislative body, such as a Town Council, Board of Supervisors, County
Commissioners, Legislature, General Assembly, and/or a chief executive like
a Mayor, County Executive, etc. The approvals may entail inclusion in
a solid waste plan along with building, grading, discharge or other
environmental permits. Most poorly
conceived waste facilities are defeated in a political arena, where citizens
have the advantage. While the applicant usually has the advantage in
the courts, litigation may be necessary to prevent permits from being
granted before the political effort produces victory.

Once a facility is in place they have a tendency to grow. Landfill
owners are particularly prone to seek horizontal or vertical expansions as a
facility nears capacity. Promises are often made during the initial
permitting that a facility will never expand. While these
promises may be sincere, the elected officials who make them may no longer
be in office as a facility nears capacity.

One way to protect area residents from a never ending
waste facility is a side agreement. The agreement is between the
facility owners and individual citizens or a citizens group. Following
are some of the important MUSTS:

It must have enforcement mechanisms which do not drain you of funds,
time or other resources;

The attorneys for the waste facility owner should prepare the first
draft of the agreement;

The agreement must be reviewed by an attorney of your choosing, who
is paid by you and who has extensive experience with this area of the
law;

The agreement must be notarized and recorded in the land records so
it runs with the deed and binds on current as well as future owners of the facility site; and

Following are the many ways in which CEDS can greatly increase the odds
of winning a campaign to protect you, your family and neighbors from the
impact of a waste facility.

Free Advice By Phone: We'd be delighted
to answer any specific questions you have regarding a waste facility. Just
give us a call at 410-654-3021. Advice by phone is always
available free of charge to those seeking to preserve their home and
neighborhood from harm.

Free Plans Review: We can conduct an
initial review of facility plans for obvious, potential impacts. We can then
suggest possible technical solutions for each impact and suggest strategies
for ensuring that the project is not approved until each solution is fully
adopted. For those facilities where impacts cannot be resolved, we can
suggest how you can research possible strategy options for preventing the
facility from opening.

Detailed Analysis of Strategy Options:
If you find you lack the time to research strategy options on your own, then
we can carry out an Initial Strategy Analysis
(ISA). Of course the purpose of the ISA is to determine the quickest, least
expensive strategy for resolving your concerns. Generally, the ISA costs
$750 to $1,500 and can be completed in two weeks.
An example of an ISA can be viewed by clicking the
following link:

Following is a bit more background on the CEDS philosophy
and approach regarding waste facilities.

While we need a place to put materials which cannot be
recycled or reused, the benefits of waste facilities can come at a tremendous cost
to nearby residents and the environment. Though technological advances make
the landfill of today safer than those of the past, the added safeguards are
by no means foolproof much less universally applied.

The following two publications illustrate the approach
advocated by CEDS to ensure that the preceding measures are achieved.

Additionally, the
CEDS Project
Evaluation Checklist allows you to assess the quality of life effects of
many types of proposed development activities. A number of the impacts
listed in the checklist are applicable to landfills, such as air quality,
environmental justice, fire, groundwater degradation, historic places, light
trespass, noise, odors, property value, traffic, and water pollution. Detail
on how to review a project for these potential impacts can be found in our
free 300-page book How To Win Land Development
Issues. Strategies for defeating a poorly conceived landfill project can
be found in Chapters 35 to 42.

CEDS is a nationwide network of
attorneys, planners, environmental scientists, traffic engineers,
political strategists, fundraisers, and other
professionals. We help people with concerns about all types of landfills
(municipal, construction-demolition debris, land clearing debris, stump
dumps, rubble, etc). We also help those living near existing and closed
landfills to reduce facility impacts.

To learn how we can help with the landfill of concern to
you, just give us a call at 410-654-3021. Advice by phone is
always available free of charge to those seeking to preserve their home and
neighborhood from harm. You can also email us at
Help@ceds.org.